One-off opportunity under the spotlight in Canberra

A "once in a lifetime opportunity" is how former Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile describes the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement he helped broker about five years ago.

Mr Vaile said it was "the economic equivalent of the ANZUS Treaty".

The agreement was "probably the most important trade or foreign policy achievement of the Howard Government" and one that would have been difficult to achieve in the current global economic climate, he said.

"Imagine trying to get the US to the table now," he said.

The agreement, its impact and the future of the US-Australia relationship will be the subject of the 2009 Fulbright Symposium at Old Parliament House, Canberra on August 24-25.

Hosted by The University of Queensland’s TC Beirne School of Law and supported by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, the symposium will feature international and local speakers from US Peterson Institute, the Australian Lowy Institute, the US Studies Centre, government, and various industry peak bodies.

It will focus on what we have learned from the Free Trade Agreement, whether it has lived up to these high expectations, what problems remain, and how we can apply these lessons in our trade negotiations with other countries.

Mr Vaile will speak about the political background to launching the agreement, the key objectives for both Australia and the US, the final deal and those issues that were excluded.

Registrations for the 2009 Fulbright Symposium close on July 29. Visit www.law.uq.edu.au/fulbright2009.

Funding to host the Fulbright Symposium is awarded by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to only one organisation each year to further the commission’s mission of "promoting mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and Australia through educational and cultural exchange".

Media: Mark Vaile (02 9363 2422, 0418 229 227), Lynda Flower at UQ’s School of Law (07 3365 2523, 0488 101 266) or Erik de Wit (07 3346 7086, 0417 088 772).